Charlotte slowly wandered down the path through the woods. She could feel the warmth of the sun peeking through the trees as she walked. The scent of flowers wafted towards her every once in a while. It was the first time she'd been outside unaccompanied in a very long time.
She wandered along, enjoying the beauty of the flowers and trees and wondered how in the world she'd gotten here.
Suddenly a gray and white wolf walked out of the woods and stopped several feet away. 'Hello Charlotte.'
The voice sounded in her head as she stared at the wolf, watching to see what it would do.
'I'm not going to attack you.'
"Are.. are you the wolf?" Charlotte asked tentatively.
'I am.' The wolf sat down.
"How is this possible?"
'Well, you're dreaming. But I am your wolf.'
"I don't have a wolf. I'm human." Was she dreaming that she was a werewolf?
'Yes and no. I can hear your thoughts my dear. You are dreaming, but I am also very real. You're very much asleep right now while your body is healing,' the wolf said calmly.
Charlotte stared at her in shock. "I don't understand."
'Do you remember seeing Sonya in the library?'
Charlotte was quiet for a moment, trying to remember. Ragnar had taken her to the library and got called away. She'd been looking through a book when Sonya had scared her, and then tried to befriend her.
'She wasn't trying to befriend us, Charlotte. She caused us to fall down the stairs,' the wolf explained patiently.
"I don't remember that," Charlotte admitted.
'Your mind has blocked it out. The fall caused you to have a miscarriage.'
"What?" She placed her hands over her belly. "I was pregnant?"
'Yes,' the wolf said forlornly.
Charlotte sank to the ground as tears fell. Another loss. She couldn't bear much more. The wolf came over and laid beside her, placing her head in Charlotte's lap.
'It'll be okay, Charlotte. We'll have more pups,' the wolf licked her hand.
"Caleb will be angry," she murmured. "He needs an heir."
'No. He blames himself.'
"How do you know?" Charlotte wiped at the tears.
'Because while you are sleeping, he is here with us, and I can hear him talking to you. He blames himself for all of this.' The wolf sighed.
"But why?"
'Charlotte, Caleb is our mate,' the wolf said quietly.
"What? I'm his second chance mate?" Charlotte was startled by this revelation.
'He had a mate before us?' the wolf lifted her head and looked at Charlotte.
"Yes. A little over five years ago. She was killed," Charlotte told the wolf.
'That explains a lot. He was guarding his heart from being broken again. His own wolf has barely spoken to him. Hold on.' The wolf grew quiet in Charlotte's mind for several moments.
"What are you doing?" Charlotte asked.
'Looking through your memories.'
"Those are private." Charlotte blushed.
The wolf laughed. 'I share your thoughts now. Caleb tried to stay away, but the mate pull was too strong. He couldn't resist you. Our mate is... '
Charlotte suddenly saw Caleb over her in her mind's eye and she blushed. "Yes. He is a good lover."
'He still held himself back, though. Why do you have such horrible dreams?' the wolf suddenly asked.
Charlotte sighed. "You can see my memories. Look back further. I don't wish to talk about it."
The wolf was quiet for a while, and laid her head again in Charlotte's lap.
Charlotte started to touch her head but stopped. "Can I pet you?"
'Of course. My name is Rain by the way.' Rain grew quiet again, and Charlotte stroked her soft head.
After a while, Rain sighed. 'Oh Charlotte, you've been through so much, love.'
Charlotte brushed away a stray tear.
'Now I understand your nightmares. And Caleb has never asked you about them?' Rain growled.
"No, but he's aware of them," Charlotte sighed.
'This mate of ours needs his ass kicked' Rain grumbled.
"He's a King," Charlotte whispered.
'I'm aware, but sometimes even kings need ass kickings.'
Charlotte giggled at that, then grew quiet. "Rain? I'm not sure what's happening. Is this real or am I dreaming? This is the most vivid dream I've ever had."
Rain sat up and looked at Charlotte. 'It's both. You're asleep, and I pulled you into your own mind so that we could meet and talk.'
"But how are you in my head?" Charlotte was lost.
'I'm your wolf,' Rain tipped her head sideways as she looked at Charlotte.
"You're kind of adorable when you do that."
'Kind of?'
Charlotte smiled. "But I don't have a wolf. I'm human."
'Not anymore, you're not,' Rain said quietly.
"Caleb turned me?" Charlotte knew he was the only one who had the power to do so except for Caleb's father, Ranald who Charlotte had only met once... Charlotte blushed.
'Oh Charlotte you did not!' Rain giggled.
"How was I to know they were in there? I thought only Caleb and I had access to the bath house." Charlotte tried to defend herself.
'Caleb's mother was here for a while,' Rain told her. 'We almost died.'
Charlotte was quiet for a bit, absently stroking Rain's coat. "Probably blood loss," she finally whispered.
'Yes. So Mate saved you and turned you and now you have me,' Rain said.
"I'm not the happiest person, Rain. I hope I don't make you miserable," Charlotte admitted.
'I will keep you going, Charlotte. You have me now, my love.' Rain told her.
"So now what?"
'Well, you my love, are fully healed, fully changed, ready to wake up and shift for the first time.' Rain gave her a wolfy grin. 'But for your first shift, I want you to let me take control.'
"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked. Why hadn't the book she read been more detailed?
Rain laughed. 'You don't need a book, you have me. Now, close your eyes and visualize yourself stepping back.'
Charlotte did as requested and suddenly felt very strange. She opened them again and everything was dark.
'Just relax. This is going to feel really strange at first, but you'll get used to it. Trust me. I've got us.' Rain said patiently.
Bright light caused Charlotte to blink, and she frowned. She had no idea where she was.
'We're in the infirmary,' Rain said.
She felt herself slip out of bed, but it was the oddest sensation as she wasn't doing anything.
'You gave me control, remember?' Rain reminded her.
'This is going to take some getting used to.' Charlotte muttered.
'It's not permanent. Just for a bit, then you will be back in control. We're going to shift into a wolf,' Rain told her.
'I can do that?' She hadn't really thought it through, but then she was feeling pretty overwhelmed by the fact that she was now a werewolf not in control of her own body and something smelled exceptionally amazing.
'That's our mate,' Rain turned back towards Caleb.
Charlotte peered out at him. 'He's never smelled like that before.'
'That's because you experienced a muted mate bond before. Now you'll experience it the way Mate does,' Rain breathed in deeply.
Charlotte could feel it, the way her body tingled in anticipation, the way she was so drawn to him. She wanted to climb up on the bed and..
'Later,' Rain opened up the door to the hallway quietly and stepped out, pulling it mostly closed behind her. She sniffed carefully. The infirmary was empty. She moved away from her room and slipped off the nightgown. 'Ready?'
'As ready as I'll ever be,' Charlotte gulped.
Rain shifted quickly, and the next thing Charlotte knew, her view had changed, and her senses sharpened. Rain headed back into the room, and Caleb's scent was almost overwhelming. Rain hopped back up on the bed and sat down, watching Caleb, who was starting to wake up.
He opened his eyes a little then suddenly they opened wide as he stared at her.
'Does he know who we are?' Charlotte asked.
"He can smell us,' Rain told her, and then reached out a paw and touched his leg. 'He also feels the tingles.'
"Charlotte?" Caleb looked as though he had seen a ghost as he stared at her. His expression changed from shock to realization. "Oh what have I done?"
Rain tipped her head sideways as she looked at him.
"I..," Caleb rubbed his hand over his face. "I completely forgot that I could do this. It's been years since I learned about it." He frowned. "I don't even know how I did it. I guess my blood? Oh Charlotte I hope you're not mad at me for this. Im sorry. I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you. And now, I guess you know why. Losing you would have destroyed me." He covered his face.
'Oh Rain, he's so upset. Do something,' Charlotte pleaded.
'Patience my love. Mate need to grovel a bit.' Rain said.
Caleb brushed a tear away.
'Rain!'
'Alright, alright," Rain muttered. She stepped forward and licked his face, surprising him, then crawled into his lap.
Caleb stroked her head and her back, his hands creating pleasurable tingles. "I don't know if we should leave the castle. You almost died less than twelve hours ago."
Rain gave him a low woof and he stroked her head again. She licked his hand and then his face. "You want to go out?"
She barked again.
"Alright. But not far and don't overdo it. I need to know how Charlotte is before that happens," Caleb said.
She gave a loud sigh.
Caleb laughed. "Let me get up so I can strip."
Rain got off his lap, giving him one more lick across the cheek, then sat on the bed, watching him take his clothes off. She swished her tail back and forth in admiration.
Caleb easily shifted into his gray and black wolf, allowing Storm full control.
'Just don't overdo it,' Caleb reminded him.
'I won't let Mate get hurt,' Storm reassured him.
Rain jumped off the bed and walked over to Storm, sniffing him and he her. They rubbed against each other, rubbing their scents on each other and licking each other's snout.
Charlotte watched in amusement. This was the first time she'd seen Caleb's wolf up close. He was quite beautiful.
Finally, Storm broke away and headed out of the building and into the backyard, Rain hot on his heels. He didn't run at full speed but moved steadily through the woods, Rain close behind. They crossed a stream and came out in an open field and he slowed down. She came up beside him, and leaned a bit against him.
Storm licked her snout, and she licked him back. He settled down in a grassy area, and she laid down next to him to rest for a bit.
Charlotte sighed, wishing she could actually speak to Caleb.
'We'll head back soon. But when we get back, you're going to be very tired and need to sleep for a long time. Just be aware of that,' Rain warned her.
'Alright,' Charlotte said apprehensively. She didn't like sleeping for long periods of time when Caleb wasn't with her, and given that it was early in the day, she was sure he had things to do. Caleb really didn't pay much attention to her during the day anyway. Rain was silent, and Charlotte wondered if she could hear her thoughts.
'I can,' Rain confirmed. She could feel Charlotte's loneliness, her sadness, and her lack of confidence due to all that she had been through. She sifted back through Charlotte's memories before she'd been kidnapped. 'This isn't you,' she whispered.
'I've..' Charlotte sighed. 'I've lost myself.'
'We'll find you again,' Rain reassured her. 'And you have me now.'